IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i4p1945-d744960.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Drivers of Sustainable Apparel Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study of Malaysian Millennial Consumers

Author

Listed:
  • Nornajihah Nadia Hasbullah

    (Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Cawangan Melaka, Kampus Bandaraya Melaka, Melaka 75350, Malaysia)

  • Zuraidah Sulaiman

    (Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Malaysia)

  • Adaviah Mas’od

    (Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Malaysia)

  • Hanis Syuhada Ahmad Sugiran

    (Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Malaysia)

Abstract

The fashion industry has expanded at the expense of the environment. Consumption and environmental pollution both serve as a wake-up call to the global endeavour to adopt more socially and environmentally responsible behaviours. It implies, in particular, a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour away from conventional to green products. Understanding the factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions is critical in developing the demand for and commitment to sustainable apparel consumption. In support of the United Nation’s efforts to promote sustainable consumption in Malaysia, a study was conducted to determine the motivating factors that influence consumers’ purchase intentions for sustainable apparel. The moderating effect of fashion consciousness on the outcome was also examined. An extended model of the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) Theory and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) was developed and tested using 324 responses collected from the Malaysian millennial generation in six major urban locations. The results of the structural equation modelling analysis indicated that the elements of motivation, opportunity, and ability were all positively linked with the sustainable apparel purchase intention. Fashion consciousness had a moderating effect on the relationships between the three drivers (motivation, opportunity, and ability) and purchase intention. The research findings provide valuable insights for businesses to formulate a sustainable and unified business model that incorporates environmental, social, and consumer considerations into core business practices. These insights would also help designers to advance the development of sustainable products as an area of innovation and support policymakers in achieving the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Suggested Citation

  • Nornajihah Nadia Hasbullah & Zuraidah Sulaiman & Adaviah Mas’od & Hanis Syuhada Ahmad Sugiran, 2022. "Drivers of Sustainable Apparel Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study of Malaysian Millennial Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:1945-:d:744960
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/1945/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/1945/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nwankwo, Sonny & Hamelin, Nicolas & Khaled, Meryem, 2014. "Consumer values, motivation and purchase intention for luxury goods," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 735-744.
    2. Patrizia Gazzola & Enrica Pavione & Roberta Pezzetti & Daniele Grechi, 2020. "Trends in the Fashion Industry. The Perception of Sustainability and Circular Economy: A Gender/Generation Quantitative Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, April.
    3. A. Beldad & S. Hegner, 2018. "Determinants of Fair Trade Product Purchase Intention of Dutch Consumers According to the Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 191-210, September.
    4. Pengji Wang & Adrian T. H. Kuah & Qinye Lu & Caroline Wong & K. Thirumaran & Emmanuel Adegbite & Wesley Kendall, 2021. "The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 325-346, May.
    5. Petty, Richard E & Cacioppo, John T & Schumann, David, 1983. "Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(2), pages 135-146, September.
    6. Kumar, Bipul & Manrai, Ajay K. & Manrai, Lalita A., 2017. "Purchasing behaviour for environmentally sustainable products: A conceptual framework and empirical study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-9.
    7. Truong, Yann & McColl, Rod, 2011. "Intrinsic motivations, self-esteem, and luxury goods consumption," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 555-561.
    8. Sandra, Notaro & Alessandro, Paletto, 2021. "Consumers’ preferences, attitudes and willingness to pay for bio-textile in wood fibers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    9. Shao, Wei & Grace, Debra & Ross, Mitchell, 2019. "Consumer motivation and luxury consumption: Testing moderating effects," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 33-44.
    10. Camilla Barbarossa & Patrick Pelsmacker, 2016. "Positive and Negative Antecedents of Purchasing Eco-friendly Products: A Comparison Between Green and Non-green Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 229-247, March.
    11. Shah Ali Murtaza & Asif Mahmood & Saima Saleem & Naveed Ahmad & Muhammad Suhail Sharif & Edina Molnár, 2021. "Proposing Stewardship Theory as an Alternate to Explain the Relationship between CSR and Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    12. Choi, Tsan-Ming & Luo, Suyuan, 2019. "Data quality challenges for sustainable fashion supply chain operations in emerging markets: Roles of blockchain, government sponsors and environment taxes," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 139-152.
    13. Yubin Wang & Jingjing Wang & Xiaoyang Wang, 2020. "COVID-19, supply chain disruption and China’s hog market: a dynamic analysis," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(3), pages 427-443, June.
    14. Phipps, Marcus & Ozanne, Lucie K. & Luchs, Michael G. & Subrahmanyan, Saroja & Kapitan, Sommer & Catlin, Jesse R. & Gau, Roland & Naylor, Rebecca Walker & Rose, Randall L. & Simpson, Bonnie & Weaver, , 2013. "Understanding the inherent complexity of sustainable consumption: A social cognitive framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1227-1234.
    15. Eung Jin Lee & Joonheui Bae & Kyung Hoon Kim, 2020. "The effect of sustainable certification reputation on consumer behavior in the fashion industry: Focusing on the mechanism of congruence," Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 137-153, April.
    16. Shuai Yang & Yiping Song & Siliang Tong, 2017. "Sustainable Retailing in the Fashion Industry: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-19, July.
    17. Thorey S Thorisdottir & Lara Johannsdottir, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Influencing Sustainability within the Fashion Industry. A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-64, November.
    18. Chorong Youn & Hye Jung Jung, 2021. "Semantic Network Analysis to Explore the Concept of Sustainability in the Apparel and Textile Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, March.
    19. Chih-Cheng Chen & Chien-Wen Chen & Yi-Chun Tung, 2018. "Exploring the Consumer Behavior of Intention to Purchase Green Products in Belt and Road Countries: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    20. Marcus Wagner & Stefan Schaltegger & Erik G. Hansen & Klaus Fichter, 2021. "University-linked programmes for sustainable entrepreneurship and regional development: how and with what impact?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1141-1158, February.
    21. Han, Heejeong & Park, Arum & Chung, Namho & Lee, Kyoung Jun, 2016. "A near field communication adoption and its impact on Expo visitors’ behavior," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1328-1339.
    22. Loi Wai Yee & Siti Hasnah Hassan & T. Ramayah, 2016. "Sustainability and Philanthropic Awareness in Clothing Disposal Behavior Among Young Malaysian Consumers," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440156, January.
    23. Wynne W. Chin & Barbara L. Marcolin & Peter R. Newsted, 2003. "A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic-Mail Emotion/Adoption Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 189-217, June.
    24. Ruiz de Maya, Salvador & López-López, Inés & Munuera, José Luis, 2011. "Organic food consumption in Europe: International segmentation based on value system differences," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(10), pages 1767-1775, August.
    25. Liselot Hudders & Mario Pandelaere, 2012. "The Silver Lining of Materialism: The Impact of Luxury Consumption on Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 411-437, June.
    26. Clay M. Voorhees & Michael K. Brady & Roger Calantone & Edward Ramirez, 2016. "Discriminant validity testing in marketing: an analysis, causes for concern, and proposed remedies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 119-134, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ryutaro Sueda & Yuna Seo, 2024. "Understanding Consumer Perception of Sustainable Fashion in Japan: Insights Based on Recycled and Secondhand Clothing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Chien-Wei Ho & Chi-Chuan Wu & Min-Tzu Hsieh, 2023. "The Impact of Awareness for the Consequences from Adopting Electric Scooters—The Crucial Role of Warm Glow and Extrinsic Appeal," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-11, January.
    3. Ahmad Hamdani & Idris Gautama So & Amalia E. Maulana & Asnan Furinto, 2023. "How Can Conspicuous Omni-Signaling Fulfil Social Needs and Induce Re-Consumption?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-21, June.
    4. Md Mehedi Hasan & Liling Cai & Xiaofen Ji & Francisca Margarita Ocran, 2022. "Eco-Friendly Clothing Market: A Study of Willingness to Purchase Organic Cotton Clothing in Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Viktorija Grigaliūnaitė & Aušra Pažėraitė & Mantautas Račkauskas, 2023. "Save Myself or Others? The Influence of Attitude toward FMCG Products from Recycled Material on the Intention to Buy Them: Hidden Motives and the Role of Income," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, July.
    6. Gizem Yener & Arzu Secer & Pascal L. Ghazalian, 2023. "What Factors Influence Consumers to Buy Green Products? An Analysis through the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability Framework and Consumer Awareness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Li, Cai & Sampene, Agyemang Kwasi & Wiredu, John & Nsiah, Takyi Kwabena, 2025. "Economic policy uncertainty and renewable energy transition: Assessing the impact of resource richness, environmental technology, and environmental governance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    8. Salihi, Awaisu Adamu & Ibrahim, Haslindar & Baharudin, Dayana Mastura, 2024. "Environmental governance as a driver of green innovation capacity and firm value creation," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(2).
    9. Hang To Diem Tran & Minsook Kim, 2023. "Factors Influencing the Continued Intent to Use Virtual Interactive Platforms in Korean Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises for Remote and Hybrid Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Ruirui Zhang & Joseph D’Andrea & Chunmin Lang, 2023. "Gifts and Commodities: A Dialectical Thought Experiment for Sublation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, May.
    11. Sahar Aamir & Syed Waqar Haider & Sarwat Jahan & Hammad Bin Azam Hashmi & Abbas Issa & Aamir Raza, 2025. "Sustainable style: “Unleashing the power of slow fashion orientation in driving purchase intentions for ethical apparel choices”," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 22(3), pages 663-692, September.
    12. Chen Pang & Jie Zhou & Xiaofen Ji, 2022. "The Effects of Chinese Consumers’ Brand Green Stereotypes on Purchasing Intention toward Upcycled Clothing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Pei Li & Chunmao Wu & Charles Spence, 2023. "Comparing the influence of visual information and the perceived intelligence of voice assistants when shopping for sustainable clothing online," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    14. Kuo-Kuang Fan & Yi-Ting Chang, 2023. "Exploring the Key Elements of Sustainable Design from a Social Responsibility Perspective: A Case Study of Fast Fashion Consumers’ Evaluation of Green Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim, Sanghee & Chang, Hyo Jung (Julie), 2023. "Mechanism of retail therapy during stressful life events: The psychological compensation of revenge consumption toward luxury brands," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Shahid, Shadma & Paul, Justin, 2021. "Intrinsic motivation of luxury consumers in an emerging market," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Jin, Ting & Prentice, Catherine & Shao, Wei, 2021. "Identifying antecedent conditions for luxury brand purchase," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Yanwen Ruan & Yingjiao Xu & Hanna Lee, 2022. "Consumer Motivations for Luxury Fashion Rental: A Second-Order Factor Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, June.
    5. Bakir, Aysen & Gentina, Elodie & de Araújo Gil, Luciana, 2020. "What shapes adolescents’ attitudes toward luxury brands? The role of self-worth, self-construal, gender and national culture," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    6. Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Waller, David & Thaichon, Park & Ting, Hiram & Lim, Xin-Jean, 2020. "Price image and the sugrophobia effect on luxury retail purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. Shao, Wei & Grace, Debra & Ross, Mitchell, 2019. "Consumer motivation and luxury consumption: Testing moderating effects," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 33-44.
    8. Ostovan, Nima & Khalili Nasr, Arash, 2022. "The manifestation of luxury value dimensions in brand engagement in self-concept," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. Cassandra France & Debra Grace & Joseph Lo Iacono & Joan Carlini, 0. "Exploring the interplay between customer perceived brand value and customer brand co-creation behaviour dimensions," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    10. Shahid, Shadma & Adil, Mohd & Sadiq, Mohd & Dash, Ganesh, 2024. "Why do consumers consume masstige products? A cross-cultural investigation through the lens of self-determination theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Jebarajakirthy, Charles & Das, Manish, 2021. "Uniqueness and luxury: A moderated mediation approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    12. J. Pfiffelmann & O. Untilov & J. Thogersen & R. Franck, 2025. "Conflicting consumer beliefs influencing eco-innovation adoption: Motives and barriers for accepting the laser marking of organic products," Post-Print hal-04957879, HAL.
    13. Daniel K. Maduku & Steven Mbeya, 2024. "Understanding family takaful purchase behaviour: the roles of religious obligation and gender," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(2), pages 440-458, June.
    14. Wang, Zi & Yuan, Ruizhi & Luo, Jun & Liu, Martin J., 2022. "Redefining “masstige” luxury consumption in the post-COVID era," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 239-254.
    15. Sharma, Purva & Srivastava, Ankur & Sharma, Veenu & Singh, Nidhi & Nijjer, Shivinder, 2024. "Understanding consumer repurchase intentions towards luxury retail brands: Evidence from an emerging market," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Taneja, Shilpa & Ali, Liaqat, 2021. "Determinants of customers’ intentions towards environmentally sustainable banking: Testing the structural model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    17. Song, Shijie & Yao, Xinlin & Zhao, Yuxiang Chris & Ba, Zhichao, 2024. "Get inspired and pay for the goods: An investigation of customer inspiration and purchase intention in livestream shopping," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    18. Faheem Gul Gilal & Kanwal Chandani & Rukhsana Gul Gilal & Naeem Gul Gilal & Waseem Gul Gilal & Nisar Ahmed Channa, 2020. "Towards a new model for green consumer behaviour: A self‐determination theory perspective," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 711-722, July.
    19. Khosroshahi, Hossein & Dimitrov, Stanko & Hejazi, Seyed Reza, 2021. "Pricing, greening, and transparency decisions considering the impact of government subsidies and CSR behavior in supply chain decisions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    20. Francesco Testa & Gaia Pretner & Roberta Iovino & Guia Bianchi & Sara Tessitore & Fabio Iraldo, 2021. "Drivers to green consumption: a systematic review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 4826-4880, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:1945-:d:744960. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.